Advertising apparatus.



A. W. LINN.

ADVERTISING APPARATUS.

APP'L ICATlON FILED 0cT.25. ms.

Patented-Apr. 1, 1919' 4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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A. w. LINN.

ADVERTISING APPARATUS;

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 25, I916.

1,298,977. 4 Patented Apr. 1,1919.

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Patented Apr. 1, 1919-.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

KEN T OR Attorneys 7n: rlaRms #srsns ca, PrioYmLlrNa. wAsumumu. n c.

A. W. LINN.

ADVERTISING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 00125. 1916.

1,298,977. Patented Apr. 1,1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET '4- WITNESSES 1 ENTOR I. '0 /'I KJJW ALBERT W. LINN, OE MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE.

ADVERTISING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

Application filed October 25, 1916. Serial No. 127,608.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT W. LINN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Memphis, in the county of Shelby and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Advertising Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improvement in advertising and indicating apparatus of the type wherein portions of the two sides of the band carrying advertisements or other matter to be exhibited, are simultaneously exposed, whereby a plurality of advertisements, or a single advertisement made up of the matter on the two exposed portions of the band will be displayed.

The object of the invention is to provide an automatic advertising apparatus which will intermittently display the whole series of advertisement on the band, and then automatically reverse the direction of movement of the band and display the same advertisements in the reverse order, thus providing for the regular and continuous intermittent display of the whole series of advertisements, so long as the actuating motor is operating.

The invention consists in the parts and combinations of parts and in the details of construction as will be more fully explained and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings;

Figure 1 is a View in elevation of my invention, part of the front being broken away to show the reversing mechanism; Fig. 2 is a view in transverse vertical section through the casing; Fig. 3 is a view of an end of the apparatus the front being removed; Fig. 4 is a view in section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; Figs. 5 and 6 are views of the pawl and ratchet mechanisms, Figs. 7 and 8 are views of the reversing mechanism, and Figs. 9 to 14 are views of detached parts of the reversing mechanism.

1 represents a box or casing having one or two openings in the front thereof through which the advertisementsor other matter on the band 2 is displayed. In the present instance, I have shown two openings 3 and 4 which are preferably covered with glass,

and through which the band 2 may be viewed. The band 2 may be of any desired length, and is secured at one end to the winding roll 5, and at its other end to the winding roll 6. It passes from the upper winding roll 5 over idle roll 7 at the top of case 1, and then down in rear of opening 3 and under pinch roll 8; thence rearwardly toward the back of the case 1 where it passes over the idle roller 9, and downwardly under idle roll 10; forwardly under idle roll 11, up over pinch roll 12 and back to winding roll 6, the portion of the band between idle roll 11 and pinch roll 12 being exposed through the lower opening 4 of the case.

The lower pinch roll 12is mounted on a shaft 13 which is provided at one end with mutilated or intermittent gear 14, through which power is applied to pinch roll 12, from the automatic reversing mechanism which will be hereinafter referred to.

Pinch roll 12 carries a gear wheel 15 meshing with a gear wheel 16 on pinch roll 8, and the gears on pinch roll 8 and 12 are geared up to gears 17 and 18 on winding rolls 5 and 6 respectively, by the intermediate gear wheels 19 and 20, so that when motion is imparted to pinch roll 12, rolls 8, 5 and 6 will be rotated in synchronism and operate to wind the band on one of the winding rolls and unwind it from the other. 1

The pinchrolls 8 and '12 rotate in synchronism and at the same rate of speed, and are sufliciently close together to prevent any slipping of the hand between them, and may 1f necessary, be surfaced with rubber or Other suitable material which will absolutely prevent any slipping, creeping or lagging of the parts of the band engaged thereby.

It is necessary however to provide for a differential movement of the winding rolls 5 and 6, as it is evident that if they were geared to the pinch rolls so as to rotate at the same speed therewith, the pull on the band would be gradually increased as the diameter of the winding roll increases, due to the winding of the band thereon, and would pull the portion of the band beingwound, from between the pinch rolls, and in order to prevent this acceleration of speed and pull, and cause the band to be wound up at the speed it is fed to the winding rolls by the pinch rolls, I connect the gear wheels 17 and 18 to the said rolls 5 and 6 by friction or slip clutches which permit the said rolls to slip or rotate independently ofthe shafts on which they are loosely mounted. I

The friction or slip clutches on the shafts of rolls 5 and 6 are alike hence a. description of one will suflice for the other.

"The gear wheel 17. is fixed to the shaft-of:

roll 5, and the latter is loosely mounted on said shaft. Located on" the said shaft intermediate said. gear wheel and roll,.is the collar 22 provided with a disl: shaped flange 23, andbetween the. latter and the gear wheel 17, is a friction disk 24 of l'eath'er or other suitable material. The collar 2 2.is provided at its end adjacent the roll 5 with a ratchet wheel 25, which is engaged by a pawl 26 carried by the roll 5 Gear" wheel 17 and flange 23' bear against. the. friction washer 24l'with sufiicient pressure to rotate the roll 5 when there is no opposition, but if the roll be winding the band, the clutch will permit the roll to slip. on the shaft, so that. itmay take up the band only as it is fed by the pinch rolls and. without any pulling action which would tend to pull or draw the band faster than it is fed by thepinch rolls- The pawl and ratchet arrangement at this end of the shaft is for rotating the roll 5 in a direction to wind up the band thereon.-

Mounted at the ends of the rolls 5 and 6 farthest removed from the friction clutches, are fi'ictionbrakes. which operate to prevent the said rolls 5 and 6 from unwinding the band faster than the latter is withdrawn therefrom by the rotationof the pinch rolls.

Each brake consists of a collar 27' loose on leather or other suitable friction washer located between said flange and .the end offthe roll. The collar 27 is provided with a fixed ratchet wheel :29 which engaged" by the pawl 30 pivoted toithe side frame of casing 1, and operates as a brake to hold the collar 27 andfiange 28 against rotation while the band is being unwound from the roll, but permits the collar 27 and also the roll" torotate without opposition, in a directionto wind up the band thereon.

There isa clutch and brake for. eachv roll 5 and 6, and the necessary tension or friction is applied to each clutch and brake by the thumb screws 29*, which are screwed into threaded openings in the end of the casing 1' and bear against the ends of the shafts. By forcing the shafts of rolls 5 and 6 longitudinally which will be done by tightening up the thumb screws 29, the

friction members of the clutch and. brake will be forced into close contact with. the rolls between them, thus increasing the power necessary to turn the rolls, and by loosening up on the thumb screws, the power necessary to turn the rolls will be lessened.

By carrying the band 2 around the rollers as. previously explained one face of the band will-show through opening 3, and the opposite face. thnough, opening l,thus permitting both sides of the band to beutilized. Each exp'osedipart of the band may carry an advertisement complete, or a single advertisement one portion of which is on one face of the band and the other portion on the other face'may'be simultaneously exposed through the two openings 3 and l. The feeding of the band in its two. directions is done solely by thepin'ch rolls, thewi'ndin'grolls-operating merely to wind up' at one end and unwind" atv the other andare, as before explained freeto slip so that there will be no pull onthe band sufficient to overcome the pressureor feed of the pinch rolls. In winding-say, on'roll 5' thelatter'will be rohated by its pawl and ratchet at the clutch end of tlie'roll, the pawl at the brake end of the roll, riding over its ratchet. As the hand is being. wound' on the upper roll, it is beingunwound' from the lower r0116, and during the unwinding movement of the lower roll, the brakeccllar of the latter is held from rotating by" its pawl and ratchet which latter'operate to prevent any racing or other movement of the roll" except that which is caused 'by the pull of theband. As the diameter of the lower roll with the band thereon is greaterthan the diameter of the gear wheel, the rollwith the band thereon necessarily moves slower than the gear wheel 18-, andthis difference in movement in the, same direction between the roll and its gear wheelpermitted b the ratchet and pawl connection between t ese parts.

The gear I l on the shaft of the lower pinch roll, ismutilated so that it comes to a stop'onceat each' rotation, thus stopping the movement of the. belt and permitting the advertisement on the-exposed p'arts of the belt to be read. This gear 14 is engaged by a mutilated'i gear 3O connected up with therevers ing mechanism. This gear 30 is considerably larger than gear wheel 14- and-isprovided with". teeth sufiicient to rotate-- gear wheel 14 once at each revolution, the remaining portion of the periphery of wheel 30 being free of teeth, so that wheel 14 will rotate only when engaged by the teeth of gearwhee'l'3'0 and will remain still during the travel of the mutilated surface of gear 30 ';;over the mutilated surface of gear 14.

81 is a main drive shaft adapted to be coupled up to any suitable source of power, such as an' electric motor. It is provided with a worm 32 which meshes with wormv wheel 33' on shaft 34; Rigid with worm whee1 33 is the gear. wheel 35' adapted to mesh with either gear wheel 36 or 37, whichlatter-arein mesh with each other, and gearwheel'37 is'in mesh with gear wheeli38 which is keyed on shaft 30* to-'which the mutilated gear 30* is secured.

' and remove gear wheel 36 from contact in its two positions.

with wheel 35, the movement of shaft 30 will be in the reverse direction, so that by shifting the tripping frame from one position to the other at regular intervals, motion will be imparted to the lower pinch roll 12 to unwind the band from one roll 5 or 6, and wind it on the other and then reverse its movement so as to unwind it from the roll on which it was wound and wind it on the roll from which it was withdrawn.

Secured on shaft 30 is the cam 40 located between the kickers 41, which latter are normally drawn towardeach other by one or more springs 42. Fixed to the cam 40 is the tooth or spur 42 adapted to engage the teeth of the star wheel 43 and turn the latter one tooth at each complete revolution of the cam. Star wheel 43 is provided with a laterally projecting tooth or spur 44 which engages the teeth of star wheel 45 and turns the latter one tooth with each revolution of star wheel 43. Star wheel 45 is provided with a laterally projecting tooth or spur 46 which engages the swinging lever 47 once at each revolution of star wheel 45. Swinging lever 47 is carried on a. pin 47 a carrying the pawls on the upright arm of the tripping frame 39, near the upper end of the latter and is provided on one face with a rigid projection 48 which lies under the pawls 49'and 50. These pawls are adapted to engage the shoulders 51 for holding the tripping frame When pawl 49 is in engagement with its shoulder 51, tripping frame 39 will be held in a position where gear 36 will engage driving gear 35, and

when the tripping frame is shifted so as to bring the end of pawl 50 against its shoulder 51, gear 36 will have been moved out of engagement with gear wheel 35 and gear wheel 37 moved into engagement with the same.

This swinging lever 47 as previously explained is pivotally mounted on the tripping frame 39 and lies in the path of movement of thetooth or spur 46 on star wheel .45, and is shifted at each revolution of the star wheel, and when so moved-or shifted, the projection 48 thereon: engaging the un derside of one of the pawls 49 or 50 lifts the pawl thus leaving the frame 39 free tobe shifted from one position to the other. It will of course be understood that with each shift of the frame 39, the direction of rotation of the star wheel is reversed, so that the shift or movement of the swinging lever 47 is always toward the pawl to he released.

After the tripping frame has been released it must be shifted and this is accomplished by the kickers 41. The kickers are located on opposite sides of the cam 40, and are moved outwardly into set position by said cam, the latter operating to move or force the kicker outwardly against the tension of its spring. Each kicker is provided at its upper end with pivoted arms 52, each of which is normally depressed by a spring 53. The kickers are forcedoutwardly or into operative position as previously explained by the cam 40, and are held in such position by the engagement of the teeth 54 on the arms 52, with the shoulders 55 on a rigid part of the supporting frame. Each arm of the kicker has a depending swinging finger 56 adapted to be engaged by the tooth or spur 46 of the star wheel 45, so

that as the spur on the star wheel engages the finger, it lifts the same and also the arms 52, sufliciently to disengage the tooth 54 on arm 52 from its shoulder 55, thus leaving the kicker free to be drawn inwardly or toward frame 39, by its spring. The spur 46 on the star wheel 45 also shifts the swinging lever 47 once at each revolution or part revolution of the wheel, and the projection 48 on the latter disengages one of the pawls 49 or 50 thus leaving the tripping frame 39 free to be shifted. After the kicker has been released as above explained it is drawn inwardly by its spring and its free end striking against the pin 47 on the tripping frame shifts the latter to its other position where it is held by its pawl 49 or 50, until again released by the spur 46 on star wheel 45.

This shift of the lever 39 causes a reversal of the direction of rotation of all the parts intermediate gear'wheel 35 and pinch roller 12, and consequently a reversal in the direction of movement of the band 2 and this reversal takes place at regular intervals so long as the drive motor is running.

The upper star wheel 45 does not make a complete rotation, but rocks back and forth by the reversal of the direction of movement ,of the lower star wheel 43, hence by changing the position of the spur or spurs on one or both of these wheels, the movement of the band can be regulated so as to be reversed immediately after the display of the last advertisement on the same, and the adjustment can be such asto provide for the display of any number of advertisements, and

the reversal of the band immediately after the display of the last one. Ca'm 40, with the spur 42 thereon, makes ten revolutions vto every single revolution of wheel 43, and

the latter makes ten revolutions to every one of wheel 45, sothat each machine, with the construction aS illustrated, will provide for one hundred advertisements. which. hum. ber can be increased. or diminished by inicreasing or diminishing the number ofvteeth on, wheels. 43'; and 45.. Where only one.- pin on spun'whee-lz'lh is used on; wheel 45, the lattenwill make approximately one. revolution, the single spur 46-rby its. contact against the opposite sidesof the-swinginglever L 'Z- shifting the same in a. direction. toreleaseia pawl, thus. leaving the tripping frame 89 free to be shifted by a kicker 41, which. has. previously been releasedby the movement: of the spur 46. If however the machine has less advertisements than. its capacity,. say only fifty, wheel 45 will be provided. with two pinslocated diametrically opposite, and will therefore operate to reverse. at each half revolution. In Figl3v I have shown wheel 45- withthree extra holes into any one. of which the second pin may beplaced.

It is evident that my improved-apparatus maybe used as a street. or station: indicator by merely substituting the nameof streets or stations in its upper part for ad erti-sing matter or in. addition. to the. advertising matter, and it is also. evident that the. advertising or indicating datato be displayed. by the apparatus be. varied asmay bedesired without departing from the spirit; of" my invention.

It is evident that many slight changes might be resorted to in the relative arrangement of parts shown and; described without departing from the. spirit and: scope of my invention. Hence I would have it. understood that. I do not wish to; confine, myself tothe exact constructionand arrangement of parts shownand described but consider myself at liberty tomake such changes as fairly come within the spirit and scope. of my invention.

Having fully described my inventionwhat I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters-Patent, is

1. In an advertising device the combination of a. band, winding rolls to which the ends of the band. are secured,.two positively driven push'rolls-intermediate the Winding rolls and between which two) thicknesses of the band. pass. so that both faces. of'the. band will be exposed at the front, and slip gearingconnecting the pinch rollsv andwinding rolls whereby the-latter are free; to slip so aslto take up the band as it is; fed to the latter from the pinch. roll.

againsttheiwinding rolls. fen controllingrthc unwinding movement'ofithe latten 3Q In, am advertising, device the. combine;

tion; ot'l bandi, winding rolls to" which the ends. ofthevband; fixhfliSQGllEBdgl/WO'; positively dmvene pinch; rolls, intermediate (the, winding rolls and; between x which two; tHiKS'kIlGSSQS.

end' of the: opening, ant-idle. rollr at the lower. end of'jtheropening two windingrolls located a. plane. to the rearofithe. pinch rolls,. a. band. secured; at; its ends-to. said windingrolla, the. said. band, being; so disposedwith relation, to. the tells; that: a; denhle thickness of belt? passes;betweenr the pinch, r01ls,.. one thickness. of" belt" passing overjthe upper; idlmoll and? the other under thev lower idle 11011;.v a. dfiveishaftg. and re versingtmechanismlocatudi intermediate the drive shaft and tlie, driyen' pinch, roll wherebythe, directiomofmoviementofi the belt will be reversed at regular intervals.-

The com ii tiomw th; a? driving gear-, a tripping ftame carrying;1i-ntermeshing gears e'itlierof' which may be moved into mesh withzsaididrivingjgear; a gear Wheel iIL-IIIGSll with one, ofsaidi'gearsi on thej'trippingframe, and driven thereby, pawlTsfor holding the tripping frame in its two positions and automatically actuated" means for disengag ing the holding; pawl; so "as to. permit the trippinggframe tahe shifted-i I 6. The combination wit'lta drivinggear; a trippingframe carrying inter'meshihg gears either Of'Wl'liClIIIlfiJ be moved into" mesh with said'driving gear, a* gear wheellzin mesh with one of said.'; ,g' ;ars on the; trippi'ng frame, two. kickers. for'shifting thetripping frame and automatic, means for actuating: the l'zi'ckers;

7. The'combin'ation adrivinggean a trippingframe;. carryingqintermeshinggears either 'ofwhich may be moved into mesh with said" driving gear, pawls forholding said frame in its two positions and" means for releasing the said p'awls; andimeans for shifting the" frame; the: said means being actuated-l automaticallyby the gearing;

81 The. combination .0? aqdi'iving-g gear; a tripping'fram-ecarrying intermeshing gears either" of which may be moved into mesh with. saidtdrivi ng gear; pawls for holding said frame in either of its two positions, specification in the presence of two subscribspring actuated kickers for shifting the ing witnesses.

frame from one position to the other, and ALBERT W. LINN. means actuated by said gearing for releasing the pawls and for freeing the kickers Wltnesses: so as to permit the latter to shift the frame. G. F. DOWNING,

In testimony whereof, I have signed this E. I. NOTTINGHAM.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G. 

